73 Duster build named Fred
I don’t disagree with you, but I’d bet in todays world you’d have a hard time finding anyone that wants to grind on factory cast heads, and put the money in to seat and guide work only to be more than halfway ($$$$ wise) to a set of aluminum heads. Also 420hp and 470lb/ft says to me your engine wants much more head than it has to rpm and make the power it should be making. It seems to me through this thread we’ve discovered the OPs goals and in my opinion he’s past what a stock head will do.
well lets see, it was probably between 8-10 years since i had it done, so im sure that played a part
and you're right, i reused several parts that i know left horsepower on the table
for instance, when i switched over from a /6 to a 360 i bought the biggest cam that would play nice with the stock torque converter
(which of course, isnt very big)
then i spun a rod bearing and had the engine rebuild as a 408, stock heads, that same cam
ideal?
absolutely not
ideal for my budget at the time?
heck yes
would i do it again today?
no, but things change, and it was the right thing to do then
now, they only reason i brought this up, is because the question was asked "is $300.00 worth it for a 360/727 that i intend to build a perfomance 408 out of"
and my awnser to that question was simply that a stock iron headed 408 is STILL a 408
and it leaves room for improvement as future budgets allow
im not telling the OP or anyone else what to do, im simply sharing what i did